Derwent Bloghttps://blog.derwentart.com
Blogs from the world of Derwent PencilsThu, 26 Jul 2018 14:02:57 +0000en-GBhourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.8/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/cropped-Black-text-PNG-32x32.pngDerwent Bloghttps://blog.derwentart.com
3232A preview of Patchings with artist Beverley Haineshttps://blog.derwentart.com/2018/07/06/a-preview-of-patchings-with-artist-beverley-haines/
https://blog.derwentart.com/2018/07/06/a-preview-of-patchings-with-artist-beverley-haines/#respondFri, 06 Jul 2018 13:34:50 +0000http://blog.derwentart.com/?p=1528When I started my daily gratitude sketch-blog back in 2012, I never thought that I would be discussing it at a top UK art fair six years later. But here I am about to demonstrate the joys and benefits of keeping a positive gratitude sketch journal. The fact that I’m able to do this shows a shift in the focus of amateur art practice, moving away from art as a product and towards art as a process.

In my work as a teacher and helper for those who struggle as I do with anxiety and depression, I have been helping people to use this process as a form of mindfulness therapy. At Patchings, I will be using Derwent’s new Inktense Travel Pan set to show how mark making with sketch and colour can develop one of our greatest human resources – the imagination.

‘Measuring up’ as an artist is a very daunting experience. Artists are both a vulnerable and incredibly resilient breed. Vulnerable because when an artist sketches or paints a picture, they are inviting the judgment of others. Often the art doesn’t even make it to the page because the ‘inner judge’ and relentless critic of anxiety takes hold.

The artists strength, however, is in their ability to create something from nothing. They have learnt to use their innate resource of the imagination in a positive way. When we don’t have a creative outlet for the imagination, and this is coupled with an overload of stress or traumatic experiences, the imagination can cause us to worry. We imagine and recreate past hurts and experiences or future problems. What we don’t do is engage the imaginative part of our brains in the ‘here and now’. This is where mindfulness practice has found its place.

That was why I started my blog. I wanted to practice what I was preaching in my well-being groups. I wanted to stay positively focused on my present moment by using sketching as a way to be mindful, drawing three things I was grateful for at the end of each day. The practice which I have continued over the years has now become my own form of therapy and with it I have also grown both as an artist and as an individual.

I now travel with my sketchbook everywhere and since I love bright and bold colour but also want to keep my sketches light and free, I use the Inktense Travel Paint Pan as my go -to product for sketching quickly on the go. I draw with it and then mix any colour I need there and then with the handy waterbrush. Come and visit me at the Derwent stand at Patchings to see me in action!

]]>https://blog.derwentart.com/2018/07/06/a-preview-of-patchings-with-artist-beverley-haines/feed/0Jesse Lane introduces Derwent Lightfasthttps://blog.derwentart.com/2018/06/29/jesse-lane-introduces-derwent-lightfast/
https://blog.derwentart.com/2018/06/29/jesse-lane-introduces-derwent-lightfast/#respondFri, 29 Jun 2018 10:00:41 +0000http://blog.derwentart.com/?p=1501Derwent are proud to announce the launch of the Derwent Lightfast range. After being announced in January at CreativeWorld, artists and retailers were abuzz with excitement about our latest range.

Boasting 100% lightfastness, the oil-based pencils have a smooth and creamy finish with a beautiful laydown of rich colour.

To celebrate, Cindy Wider has interviewed Jesse Lane, award-winning coloured pencil artist who was commissioned to create the inspiring eye image that adorns our latest range. Find out how Jesse started out as an artist, his passion for coloured pencils and the Derwent Lightfast range in the latest Derwent Blog!

Jesse, could you tell us when you first realized that you enjoyed creating art as a child and were you supported in your decision, if so by whom?

I think I always enjoyed creating art, but I wasn’t very good at it. When I was 14, my art teacher told me I was the worst in the class. The following year, I made friends with the art kids at school and that was when I really got into coloured pencils. I started with little self-confidence.

As my dad was a former graphic artist, I gradually improved when I got him to critique my work, whereas previously I never always let him.

People refer to the ability to do art as a gift, especially when they see someone young doing it well. But the truth is, art was never a gift for me. It was something I had to work for. I did have a gift, though: people around me who encouraged me. I went to a high school with a great art department, not just a few art classes. I now have a supportive fiancee and encouraging parents, which is rare. You can control your talent with practice, but it can be much harder to control your environment.

What journey have you been on as an artist. For example when did you first begin to create art as an adult? Did you study at all and if so where? How was that experience?

During the first few years I practised rendering ability. Then I tried to create a style for my work using lighting and colour. I studied animation at Texas A&M University, but quickly decided that wasn’t what I wanted as a career. I began taking more drawing classes and trying to turn animation assignments into drawing ones.

At the time it was frustrating, but it got me thinking for myself instead of sticking to class assignments. Many artists can render well, but don’t know how to think originally.

You were commissioned to create the artwork on Derwent Lightfast tins. What makes Derwent Lightfast Pencils a tool you enjoy using?

As a coloured pencil artist, I applaud Derwent for making an entire range of 100% lightfast coloured pencils. Lightfastness has traditionally been a concern for both artists and art collectors alike. It’s testament to them that they’ve listened to and understood the needs of creatives.

The Lightfast range is the brand’s first fully oil-based pencils. A good balance is struck between soft and hard meaning that I can create a fine point without worrying about the pencil snapping but still maintaining the smoothness of a creamy, soft pencil.

The pencils themselves have a classy appearance with a varnished, bare wood. The neutral tone allows the coloured ends to stand out, making it easier to quickly locate colours while working – a bit help especially when you’re working on a piece of art at the size I am!

How do you manage to create such detailed texture with a coloured pencil?

People are most interested in my technique for drawing skin-tones. I work from general to specific. This is quicker and much simpler than trying to draw details from the start.

I begin by applying large blocks of colour. I work in shades of tans, beige, creams and browns. This establishes the values of my subject.

Next I begin to work in colour — adding pink, purple and yellow, or a brown that has a hint of red in it. These patches of colour are often smaller but create a basic texture..

Lastly, I capture the tiny details. Even if skin lacks wrinkles, it’s always splotchy. I add tiny splotches of colour to create an organic appearance. With these splotches, my colours get more saturated. I find the previous layers help mute the intensity of the later colours and keep the skin unified, while providing variety.

For artists just starting out on their creative journey, what are your top tips?

Be intentional with your time and have a schedule. You can’t always expect others to fit into your schedule, but it helps if you establish one for yourself.

I have gone back and forth with the idea that I should draw more and sleep less. While there have been times I’ve had to embark on drawing marathons (once, for 61 hours straight), it’s not a good idea. I would rather have less time and be able to think clearly, than more time when I can’t perform well.

Quantity doesn’t make a successful fine artist. Quality does. Show up at your best and give your full attention to the art with the time you have. No distractions.

Treat every piece like it’s your next best piece. You grow most when you challenge yourself, like in the gym. While you do want every piece to be your next best, it doesn’t mean it will be. But there’s a positive correlation.

We all have that one piece that we don’t like very much, but everyone else seems to enjoy. So make the best of every piece, because while you may not value it, others might and it could greatly help you.

Accept critique, it helps you know where to focus. You learn more with mistakes than successes.

Stay Inspired! When I was young, there were people who had much more talent than me… but I stayed inspired, kept on the same path with colored pencil and eventually reached beyond them.

Use the full range of contrast. Don’t be afraid of black or using the white of the paper.

The more you can plan ahead, the more time you’ll save and the better your work will be.

Is there anything else that you would like to tell me about your art journey so far and your inspiration to create art, that I could include in your interview to inspire others?

It’s not a story of triumph, but more of an empowering realization when something terrible happened in my art career.

In December of 2016, I had my first solo show, Face Reality, at RJD Gallery. The morning after the exhibit closed, the gallery was destroyed by a fire. I was devastated. I lost five major pieces that together, took over 1,000 hours to create. I had to start over. I literally had to Face Reality.

I felt small and the challenges seemed overwhelming. But as much as the fire upset me, every day I still had the option to go into my studio and create new work. I think it was important for me to acknowledge the loss and draw inspiration. Sometimes triumph isn’t having some sort of amazing comeback, but pushing through unfortunate situations and getting through to the other side. Sometimes stubbornly persisting is the most important thing someone can do.

The silver lining is: the gallery and my work were fully insured. RJD reopened in a larger and more beautiful space, and last year was its best year ever.

Derwent would like to thank Cindy Wider for her collaboration on this interview.

Following an international open call, 1278 artists from 64 different countries submitted a total of 3,299 artworks – the highest number of entries in the history of the Prize. Submissions were judged by an expert panel comprising Gill Saunders, Senior Curator at the V&A; Chris Sharratt, Art Critic; and Clare Woods, Artist.

Overall, the judges selected 67 artworks which celebrate drawing in all its diversity. Derwent are delighted to announce the 57 shortlisted artists:

The shortlisted works offer an overview of international contemporary drawing approaches, from Seoul-based artist Sunghun Jung’s surreal geometric drawing Fountain, to the panoramic depiction of Lagoa de Fogo drawn onto a saxophone reed by Portuguese artist Maura Barreto.

French artist France Bizot’s intricate hand-drawn books illustrate one way in which drawing can be realised in three dimensions, whilst Lithuanian artist Laura Guoke’s large scale portrait There you are, the Journey has almost Begun highlights the facility of graphite, charcoal and coloured pencils to create hyper-real imagery with a digitised aesthetic.

“Being a selector for this year’s Derwent Art Prize was the kind of challenge that you can’t help but enjoy. The diversity of drawing practice and the energy, thought and skill displayed by so many of the artists was exciting to see, and meant that some very good work didn’t make the final selection.

“However, in the end , I think that, after an intense process of discussion and careful consideration, this year’s exhibition provides a fitting overview of contemporary drawing practice.”

In addition to the selected artworks being hung in a public display at Mall Galleries, prizes totalling £12,500 will be awarded in a private awards ceremony on 20 September 2018. These include a First Prize of £6,000, Second Prize of £3,000, Third Prize of £1,500 and the Young Artist Award of £750 for an artist under 25 years of age. There is also a People’s Choice Award of £750, which gives the general public an opportunity to vote for their favourite shortlisted work. The poll will launch on the Derwent Facebook page on 25 June 2018.

Subsequent to the exhibition at Mall Galleries, the Derwent Art Prize 2018 will tour to venues across the UK including Trowbridge Arts (29 September – 10 November 2018) and Derwent Pencil Museum in Keswick, Cumbria (until January 2018).

]]>https://blog.derwentart.com/2018/06/22/derwent-is-proud-to-announce-the-finalists-and-exhibitors-of-the-2018-derwent-art-prize/feed/0Get ready for the London Stationery Show and start hand lettering with Inktensehttps://blog.derwentart.com/2018/04/19/get-ready-for-the-london-stationery-show-with-paul-antonio-and-handlettering-with-inktense/
https://blog.derwentart.com/2018/04/19/get-ready-for-the-london-stationery-show-with-paul-antonio-and-handlettering-with-inktense/#respondThu, 19 Apr 2018 15:16:14 +0000http://blog.derwentart.com/?p=1467

The previous twelve months have culminated in our debut appearance at the London Stationery Show, a show exclusively for trade buyers. As a celebration of our first time at the Islington-based event, we’ve partnered with Paul Antonio, expert calligrapher for an Inktense workshop, showing savvy retail experts how to great creative with our watersoluble medium.

Not only is Paul a fantastic artist, he is a trained calligrapher, gilder and heraldic artist as well as an expert in manuscript history and archaeological illustration. His talent stretches across the globe and he has written hieroglyphs out in Egypt for the Metropolitan Museum of Art and is one of four specially selected Crown Office scribes, who write out British law on vellum with traditional quills.

We asked a busy Paul a few questions ahead of the show.

There’ll be a lot of people who want to do calligraphy, following an increased interest in the craft. However most people don’t know where to begin! What do you suggest is best place to start if someone would like to start?

Decide on the script you want to learn from. Calligraphy today encompasses more different ways to write than ten years ago.

If you know what you want to learn, you can choose your tools to fit your style!

Once you have an exemplar and you are ready to write, do some online searching to see how other people write. The most important thing to remember is, at NO POINT should you ever be in pain. If you are suffering, you are doing something wrong. Don’t grip the writing tool so hard, sit up don’t slouch, take a break.

Ultimately, have fun!

Why do you enjoy using Inktense Pencils for calligraphy artwork?

I love the fact that Inktense are so versatile and that the colours are so intense. They give the perfect solution as an ink in a solid form, which makes them easier to carry around than a huge pot of ink. You can use them as a pencil or as ink and that makes good sense for both travel journal illustration or bullet journalising as well as when needed as a vibrant ink wash.

How do you use Inktense for calligraphy? How does it differ from using traditional tools?

It is a completely different approach! When we start learning calligraphy, we are taught using double pencils. I immediately saw the application of using a pencil instead of a dip pen.

However, having a strong knowledge of other traditions of calligraphy internationally gave me a little more insight into how to make applying Inktense work well.

Unlike a dip pen, where you dip the nib in the ink, you can use Inktense to either write with the pencil and flood the area with water, or wet the pencil and write with that directly.

The latter gives you the option to create some great mark variations based on the intensity of the shades, the blending opportunities and the ability to create gradients.

Is the colour and intensity of colour a key factor when creating artwork?

It’s not important if you’re wanting to create prints, as you may want to keep the background clear for copying.

But, if you are making one off pieces, that is a completely different matter. Inktense offers a really vivid colour interaction and they are incredibly fun to use. I feel you have a little more control over where the colour goes, and if you stress out about watercolour blending and getting colour EVERYWHERE, then Inktense are you – due to the fact they dry permanently once they’re set!

That is not to say you can’t treat Inktense like a watercolour if you don’t want. My advice would just be to experiment and play – because the colours really encourage you to do exactly that!

Give us your top three tips when working with Inktense on calligraphy projects?

No matter if you have to get up or think you haven’t finished – ALWAYS DRY THE TIPS, never leave them to soak in water.

Plan your colours and know roughly where you want them – there’s no need to be pinpoint meticulous! But once wet, don’t be afraid to go back in there with the pencil and get more intense pigment deposition.

If you are going to write on top if it with ink from a pen, use a tester sheet first as it may need setting – either with heat or a sealant.

What other Derwent materials do you use?

I’ve always loved Derwent pencils from the time I stumbled across them during my time at Art School nearly 20years ago. The range of pencils is staggering and the range of colours is absolutely joyous. Derwent really are experts in the way they group them together and how they can all intermix. The sheer variety of pencils alone is a lot to get through!

However, I’m particularly fond of Derwent Inktense Blocks as they make superb writing tools. I often partner them with a waterbrush and have even broken up some of the Inktense Blocks to drop them into the reservoir directly!

Derwent Graphic should be a staple of every pencil case – the gradations of hardnesses make for a better experience. The Tinted Charcoal makes for a super underpainting.

And finally, are you looking forward to showing buyers at the London Stationery Show how to explore the possibilities of Derwent Inktense Pencils?

I think showing retailers is really important!

If you walk into an art store, you want to know that the staff know what the tools can do, how far you can push them and how much fun you can have with them. So in that respect, it is really fulfilling to get retailers working with tools directly and being guided by a professional.

Ultimately, it makes for a better experience for the customers.

Paul Antonio is an expert calligraphy and hand lettering artist. His Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are full of fantastic images. Paul will be demonstrating the Inktense Pencils at the London Stationery Show on Wed, 25th April (from 14.00).

]]>https://blog.derwentart.com/2018/04/19/get-ready-for-the-london-stationery-show-with-paul-antonio-and-handlettering-with-inktense/feed/0Creating Spring Calligraphy with the Inktense Paint Pan Set and Shayda Campbellhttps://blog.derwentart.com/2018/04/06/creating-spring-calligraphy-with-the-inktense-paint-pan-set-and-shayda-campbell/
https://blog.derwentart.com/2018/04/06/creating-spring-calligraphy-with-the-inktense-paint-pan-set-and-shayda-campbell/#respondFri, 06 Apr 2018 14:17:02 +0000http://blog.derwentart.com/?p=1456Hello! My name is Shayda Campbell and today I’ll be using the Derwent Inktense Paint Pan Travel Set to create a floral watercolour piece that’s perfect for spring. This is a simple afternoon project that anyone can do (and be successful with!) The Inktense Paint Pan Set is easy to use and it’s compact enough to put in your pocket and pull out whenever creativity strikes and you just have to get your paint on!

A floral piece like this one is a wonderful project for the beginner watercolour artist. The forms of flowers and leaves are so common that you can abstract them as much or as little as you like and they will remain recognizable to your viewer. So you can free yourself of the stress of ‘getting it right’. You don’t need to worry about painting a perfect flower; instead you can focus on the way the brush feels in your hand. And as you paint leaves and vines, think about the pressure that you apply to the paper. In one moment you use only the lightest touch, just the delicate fine point of the brush; in another moment, you smoosh the belly of the brush across the page forming large leaves and petals.

Alright. I’m done with the painting poetics. Let me show you how this piece comes together. First, I started by mixing up a lovely dark green. The paint set comes with a palette in the lid as well as a water brush, so you really do have everything you need at your fingertips, no matter where you happen to be. I used the water brush to mix my colour and then I began my piece by painting some leaves on the page. I started with larger, basic leaf shapes and filled in the perimeter of my piece, leaving the centre blank.

Next, I added some more detailed botanical shapes. I used the palette to mix a slightly warmer green and painted smaller, finer leaves in different shades to create some visual interest.

After I had created a perimeter of greenery on my piece, I mixed up a deep violet and began to add some floral shapes. If you are attempting a flowery watercolour like this one, keep in mind that the shape of a flower is a very vague thing. A flower rarely looks like the four or five petal icon that we see so often. A good swoosh of your water brush across the paper will produce an organic shape that will almost certainly look more like a real flower than that familiar set of petals. Adding the details of a stamen and/or a stem will help your organic flower to come to life.

I decided to expand my colour palette a little further and finished my botanical painting with a few light pink flowers and leaves. (Again, I left the middle area blank and just filled out the border).

Finally, I used black paint and the water brush to write ‘Bloom’ in a brush script in the centre of the piece. The water brush is a great lettering tool. You can easily add pressure for a thicker stroke or lighten your pressure to get those thin, delicate up-strokes. The water brush also makes it easy to attain that pretty watery translucent look in each letter. I tried to make my letters opaque at the top and lighter towards the bottom. Having water in your brush makes it easy to add the right amount of water to the form of each letter and I think the result is quite pretty!

I hope you’ll give this springtime floral painting a try. The Derwent Inktense Paint Pan Set has quality pigment watercolour pans that you can carry in your pocket and take just about anywhere! I’ll be using mine on the seashore this summer. But until then, I’ll be hanging my ‘Bloom’ on the fridge and just hoping for spring!

]]>https://blog.derwentart.com/2018/04/06/creating-spring-calligraphy-with-the-inktense-paint-pan-set-and-shayda-campbell/feed/0Introducing the Derwent Inktense Paint Pan Set with Rob Duttonhttps://blog.derwentart.com/2018/03/23/introducing-the-derwent-inktense-paint-pan-set-with-rob-dutton/
https://blog.derwentart.com/2018/03/23/introducing-the-derwent-inktense-paint-pan-set-with-rob-dutton/#commentsFri, 23 Mar 2018 11:30:44 +0000http://blog.derwentart.com/?p=1428I’m an artist who loves the versatility of a medium. Working on hills, in studios or just in my front room, I need something that is both compact but still contains the quality that every artist requires.

Imagine my face when I found out that Derwent were releasing the Inktense Paint Pan Set, combining the best of Inktense – ultimately my favourite medium – with a pan set for mixing, blending and adding to my on-the-move materials.

With 12 colours presented in the Derwent Inktense Paint Pan Travel Set, each colour has been carefully selected to give a popular and varied selection, making them perfect for either landscapes (my speciality), abstracts or portraits.

The magic of Derwent Inktense does mean that you can dilute the pigments with various amounts of water, creating a really wide range of different and colourful tones depending on the combinations you use.

Like all Inktense, the colours are vibrant and the different blocks can be blended to create more colours, meaning you don’t have to use much pigment at all as they lay down so well. The added advantage of Intense is that once dried, you can add layers on top without affecting the layer beneath (as opposed to watercolour).

Also, by pre-mixing paints in the palette wells, new colours are ready to go, meaning you can add finer details on a big board or broadly wash a smaller piece paper with a colour of your choosing – be it lavender purple, moss green or a shepherd-red-sky.

Inktense, amongst many others, has one big bonus for me: unlike soft pastels, you can quickly switch to painting with Inktense blocks to achieve a more fluid look, creating drama and movement with your brush strokes.

This can’t be achieved with a wet soft pastel in the same way, as you lose the ‘sparkle’ and clarity with the colours. Pastel blocks quickly go dull when watercolour is applied to them – not with Inktense!

The ingenious compact Inktense Paint Pan Travel Set is ideal for outdoor and small studio work – It’ll definitely be joining me on my next holiday.

Following the launch of the fourth instalment of the Derwent Art Prize in November 2017, Derwent – internationally renowned fine art brand – are pleased to announce details of this year’s selectors.

The Derwent Art Prize aims to reward excellence by showcasing the very best 2D & 3D artworks created with any pencil or coloured pencil as well as water soluble, pastel, graphite and charcoal by British and International artists. The 2018 selection panel is comprised of Gill Saunders, senior curator, V & A, Chris Sharratt, Frieze contributor and editor of the a-n news website, and Clare Woods, internationally renowned artist.

Gill Saunders is Senior Curator of Prints at the Victoria & Albert Museum, in the Word & Image Department (WID), which is responsible for the Museum’s collections of prints, drawings, paintings, photographs, designs, digital art, books and archives, including eight of the V&A’s eighteen national collections. Gill specialises in 20th century and contemporary prints and drawings and her publications include Prints Now (2006); Walls are Talking (2010); Recording Britain (2011); In Black and White: prints from Africa and the Diaspora (2013) and Vintage Travel Posters: Journeys to the Sea (2018). Gill teaches, lectures and broadcasts regularly.

Chris Sharratt is a freelance arts writer and editor based in Glasgow. A contributor to Frieze and Art & Education, he is also editor of the a-n News website. With over twenty years of journalistic experience, he has written for a variety of publications including The Guardian, The Sunday Times, New Statesman, The Face and Manchester Evening News. Formerly executive arts editor at Metro and editor of City Life, from 2012-14 he was a producer for Sync, a progressive technology programme for the Arts in Scotland.

Clare Woods is a painter who is essentially concerned with sculpting an image in paint and expressing the strangeness of an object. Originally trained as a sculptor, much of Woods’ work is an exploration of physical form. This understanding of sculptural language and a preoccupation with forms in space, translated into two-dimensional images, underpins her pictorial practice. In much of her previous work, Woods’ concern with landscape has been paramount. However, since 2011 her images have been increasingly preoccupied with conveying the human form. Clare holds a BA in Fine Art from Bath College of Art and an MA in the same from Goldsmith’s College, London. Her recent shows include Lady Midnight at Pallant House Gallery, Chichester; The Drama Triangle at Martin Asbaek Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark; and Victim of Geography at Dundee Contemporary Arts. She is currently exhibiting Reality Dimmed at Mead Gallery, Warwick; History in the Making at Alan Cristea Gallery, London; and Rehumanising at Simon Lee Gallery, Hong Kong.

The deadline for entries is 8th May 2018, 5pm and artists can submit up to six of their works. For further details and full terms and conditions on entry requirements, please visit:

]]>Urban Sketching with Lindsay Pritchardhttps://blog.derwentart.com/2018/02/16/urban-sketching-with-lindsay-pritchard/
Fri, 16 Feb 2018 12:27:58 +0000http://blog.derwentart.com/?p=1404Having used watercolours for a while it was lovely to go back to my favourite medium and try out the new Derwent Procolour range. I was keen to see how well the pencils blended and the level of colour saturation that I could achieve with them. Living in the industrial Midlands, I often depict urban landscapes so the scene of a derelict factory covered in colourful graffiti seemed the obvious choice to test them out on.

To lay down the initial sketch I used a Derwent Precision pencil. This fabulously comfortable pencil, with an ergonomic metal barrel, enabled me to produce a light sketch and I able to quickly cover the paper as there was no need to sharpen it. The handy eraser, tucked in the lid, was a useful addition.

I then began layering colour on the paper using the Derwent Procolour coloured pencils, starting with the highlights which I worked over with deeper tones, blending them to give me a wider range of colours than the initial 36 pencil set provided. I was impressed with the precise lines I could achieve with their hard points – yet they were soft enough to allow for solid block coverage as well. The pencils were extremely comfortable and satisfying to use, and the richness of colour achieved was delicious.

In fact, after completing the factory brickwork and looking at the results, I realised that the brick colours were a little too strong taking impact away from the graffiti . Cue the Precision eraser. With it I was able to precisely lift a little of the colour from the brickwork without removing all of the pigment or damaging the paper, giving me the faded masonry effect that I was aiming for .

The blending ability of the Derwent Procolours came into their own when I moved onto the factory railings. Covered in rust and peeling paint the railings were a challenge but these wonderful little sticks of colour allowed me to put down layers of tone, seamlessly blending together to create the look of rusty old metalwork, with the highlights removed by the Precision eraser.

Overall, I was really impressed with the finished result . The Derwent Procolours’ solid core enabled me to sharpen them to a good point allowing me to create much more detail than I can usually achieve with a lot of coloured pencils on the market. The depth of colour was outstanding and didn’t require the usual multiple layering of tone to achieve it – yet I was still able to remove some of the pigment in areas that I needed to easily. The intensity and vibrancy of colour lent itself well to the subject matter I chose.

I’d forgotten how wonderfully tactile pencils are to use and the Procolours are a fabulous addition to Derwent range… I think my paint brushes will be gathering dust for a while now!

Derwent Inktense’s versatility has always appealed to me being both watersoluble and bold. It’s rare to see a water-soluble medium that can be used for different types of art and create a different effect time and time again.

Unlike typical artists who work with a watercolour for landscapes, I paint female faces and figures, specifically with Inktense blocks. During my time as an artist, I have always been disappointed with traditional watercolours when they have not easily dissolved into washes. But I was delighted to find Derwent Inktense Blocks which easily dissolve in water, are versatile and can be used for detail or broader areas, whilst still creating really strong vibrant colours.

My way of working is very simple: I enjoy accurate drawing but must have an element of chaos in my work which allows the drawing to develop. I allow the medium to control my flow of working, making Derwent Inktense Pencils and Blocks perfect for me.

I begin with a careful drawing and then brush ample amounts of water into selected area and just enjoy seeing the drawing dissolve into rich washes. Then I work into the “lost” drawing bringing back detail into areas, like the eye and nose shape, while at the same time using broad strokes with the Blocks to give dramatic areas of dark rich colours. I can then vary my work, by drawing either wet or dry, depending on what effects are needed or whether I want more subtle lines or pronounced areas of the face.

Find out more about Derek Jones on Facebook to see his latest work and projects.

With a very pleasing weight and feel, The Derwent Precision cuts a very sleek and ergonomically designed figure, whilst giving artists the versatility they require.

To get the feel of my new acquisition, I took some scrap paper and just scribbled and doodled for a while. Upon application I found the leads to be nice and strong, taking a fair amount of pressure and punishment. They also delivered a nice even application; some brands I have used in the past contain ‘hard’ particles that scratch the paper surface.

I was now ready to hit a ‘live’ project, and had just the test: a large A2 study of a tiger. My reference was a series of photos taken at Dudley Zoo of Joao, a young Sumatran Tiger. Joao is part of a major international conservation project to protect this critically endangered species (there are now fewer than 400 of these magnificent beasts left in the wild).

As I usually work with a 0.5mm lead I was a little apprehensive having to use a slightly thicker lead. I need not have worried as it handled beautifully and was easy to sharpen to the finest of points for even more detail where required.

The under drawing was mapped out lightly with the Precision HB. I then hatched in the darker facial features and stripes with the Precision and a 2B lead. At this point I could see that the composition and tonal balance was going to work so I went in all guns blazing with a Derwent Graphic 9B working on both the animal and background simultaneously. I overlaid the hatched stripes with 9B Graphic Pencil leaving ‘tatty edges from the previous layer showing through. I then used a medium blending stump to merge the two layers together.

Happy with progress I now focused on the detail. As always, I started in the top left corner and worked down the paper to stop smudging where possible. I lightly pencilled in the whiskers and pure white hairs and then ran a needle along these lines creating an indent in the paper. As subsequent layers of pencil were laid down, the indents and whiskers came to life. It was then just the laborious task of building up the layers of fur: alternating between 2B/HB in the Derwent Graphic range , a blending stump, needle and various erasers.

To finish the effect I added fine hair with the 0.5mm Derwent Precision.